Chapter 46: Package Delivered

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Package Delivered

It would make sense if he was just deliberately maintaining a perfect image in public. However, even his eyes and micro-expressions were like this. That was a bit bizarre. It was just as bizarre as the emergence of his so-called Black Magic legacy.

Without seeing the person with their own eyes, there was simply too little information. After discussing it for a while without reaching any conclusion, Shen Yun and Xiao Jiu had no choice but to drop the matter for now. He glanced at the rag still clutched in Xiao Jiu’s hand and walked over.

"Let’s do this together. It’ll be faster," he said.

Although Xiao Jiu wore a maid outfit, Shen Yun never truly treated her as a servant. Instead, he felt more and more like he was in a romantic relationship.

"Master." Xiao Jiu grew a little anxious. She took a few quick steps over, reached out, and pressed Shen Yun back onto the sofa. "Being able to do chores for Master is my greatest wish," she grumbled softly. "Please don’t deprive me of my sense of happiness, Master. And please don’t... treat me as an equal. That would... make me feel uneasy."

"Why?" Shen Yun was dumbfounded. Even though Xiao Jiu was just his phone that had gained a soul, from the moment she became Xiao Jiu, he no longer saw her as an object.

"Master." Xiao Jiu revealed a gentle smile. Taking Shen Yun’s hand, she crouched down, kneeling beside his legs, and looked up at his face. "When my sentience was born, the first thing I had to recognize was ’self’. I am Master’s property; I am a tool. Therefore, the value of my existence, my wish, and my happiness are all tied to being able to do more things for Master. What fills this soul is the emotion of giving, not receiving."

It was because of this very emotion that Xiao Jiu appeared as a female and took on the image of a maid. She called Shen Yun "Master" not just for a sense of roleplay.

"...I’m sorry," Shen Yun pursed his lips and smiled bitterly. "I find that a bit... hard to understand."

"Of course! How could humans possibly understand a phone’s thoughts?" Xiao Jiu smiled sweetly.

"...Alright, then I’ll just sit back and be the lord of the house with peace of mind." Shen Yun reached out with his other hand and stroked Xiao Jiu’s cheek. "But you must properly accept my affection and care."

"Mmm..."

Feeling the familiar warmth of his palm, Xiao Jiu couldn’t help but let out a strange sound as her cheeks gradually flushed red. Yet, a joyful smile blossomed on her face. It was the kind of smile that said she had no regrets anymore. Truth be told, such a smile left Shen Yun somewhat shaken.

He finally truly realized that Xiao Jiu before him, and perhaps even the other monsters he would grant Enlightenment to in the future, might possess emotions entirely different from humans.

"M-Master, I’ll go do the major cleaning now." As if to vent her joy, Xiao Jiu suddenly stood up, full of motivation. She picked up the rag and skipped off toward the bathroom, humming a tune.

Shen Yun sat quietly on the sofa for a moment. He gave a helpless smile. He wondered if he would be spoiled into a useless cripple at this rate.

Crossing his legs, he closed his eyes. He used his Divine Thought to gather the Spiritual Qi in the air, then slowly condensed Spiritual Power within his Divine Soul bit by bit. Cultivation was always a slow, grinding process; even with the Bodhi Branch, he could not afford to slack off.

After lunch.

In the afternoon, a large truck with a military district insignia suddenly drove up and parked at the door. Once again, Director Lu stepped out of the vehicle.

"Is Perfected Shen here?" he called out from the door.

Just as Shen Yun was about to go over, Xiao Jiu opened the front gate.

"The gift we promised has arrived," Director Lu smiled. "Please come and receive it, Perfected Shen."

"Gift?" Shen Yun paused for a moment before something clicked in his mind, his face lighting up with joy. Could it be...

"A Type 99A2 domestic main battle tank that just finished testing on the production line." Director Lu handed over a thick manual. "It’s right here in the back of the truck. Perfected Shen, this is Huaxia’s most advanced tank. The weapons system has been fully retained, and we’ve also included a small amount of shells and bullets. Please sign this agreement. If any problems arise, or if it ends up in the wrong hands..."

"Don’t worry, don’t worry." Shen Yun didn’t even read it and just signed his name directly. "There is no one in this world who can steal things from my hands."

"True. It’s best to keep it in a Storage Treasure normally," Director Lu reminded him, though he felt at ease. In their eyes, Shen Yun was probably just keeping it as a collectible; his own destructive power was far greater than a tank’s anyway.

After signing, Shen Yun tossed the manual to Xiao Jiu and walked straight toward the truck.

A tow tractor that had followed them was currently unloading the cargo.

The tank gradually revealed its true form, and it was even more massive than Shen Yun had imagined. He wasn’t a real military enthusiast, after all. Seeing this behemoth—over seven meters long, over three meters wide, and over two meters tall—he was a little awestruck. Compared to this, a Hummer off-road vehicle was incredibly weak in terms of sheer intimidation.

"This main battle tank generally requires a crew of three to operate its controls fully, but for normal driving, two people are enough." A hint of envy also leaked from Director Lu’s eyes.

He wasn’t envious of the fact that someone could own a private tank. Instead, he envied the prestige it represented. Collecting a new-model tank as a toy was something unprecedented in all of Huaxia. It all came down to one simple truth: times had changed.

Shen Yun suppressed his inner excitement and quietly watched the military-green behemoth fully dismount and reveal its entire body before him. He reached out to touch it. The cold, metallic feel was incredibly distinct. Moreover, it wasn’t designed with a smooth, polished finish like a civilian car; it looked as if it were welded together from square steel plates, exuding a primal, rugged charm.

With a shift of his thought, the Bodhi Branch pattern on the back of his hand emitted bursts of a cool aura.

Sure enough, the Spiritual Power currently stored was not enough to grant Enlightenment to this entire tank. And the required Spiritual Power was even greater than he had imagined, exceeding even the amount it took to grant Enlightenment to Xiao Jiu.

That was right. The Enlightenment of the Bodhi Branch also required Spiritual Power. However, this Spiritual Power didn’t belong to Shen Yun. Instead, it was slowly recovered by the Bodhi Branch itself; the higher Shen Yun’s cultivation level was, the faster the recovery speed.

Additionally, the consumption required to grant Enlightenment to an object seemed to follow its own set of standards.

For a massive behemoth like an entire tank, the Spiritual Power needed for Enlightenment was surprisingly only twenty percent more than Xiao Jiu. But if he were to just grant Enlightenment to a small part of it—such as the outer shell—it would still consume roughly half the amount needed for Xiao Jiu. This was true even for much smaller objects, even a small stone.

It seemed there was a minimum threshold.

"Thank you very much." Shen Yun retracted his hand and looked at Director Lu, sincerely expressing his gratitude. "This fulfills one of my wishes."

"It’s what you deserve," Director Lu quickly waved his hand.

"Haha, it seems I still need to make even greater contributions," Shen Yun joked. "I’m still thinking about the day I can add a J-20 fighter jet to my collection."